Alice Wells
What did you enjoy most about your degree programme?
I really enjoyed having the option to choose modules from other colleges throughout my degree. There are also options to tailor your course to your specific interests, in my case I took a lot of modules which fit together well and enhanced my interest in climate science. Doing a project in the third year before undertaking our dissertations in fourth year also provided me with good experience in essay/report writing with so many people (definitely me included) not having written essays since school! The wide range of research topics available for fourth-year projects was also extremely welcome, it provided me with an opportunity to refine my area of interest and my supervisors were fantastic! Lecturers throughout my degree have always been willing to help and have really motivated me, especially in my final year, to do my absolute best.
Some of the students we are profiling have been awarded a departmental prize or award in recognition of their exceptional achievements. If this applies to you, please can you tell us about this and what it means to you?
I was awarded one of the two Mathematics Research Institute Prize for the best individual projects supervised by staff members of the Mathematics Research Institute. Receiving this award was a fantastic achievement and one which I am incredibly proud of myself for. I felt like I put the majority of my energy into my dissertation in my final year and having the supervisory team that I did, made that so much easier.
Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?
Expedition Society.
What was the highlight of your time at Exeter?
My time at Exeter has been filled with amazing opportunities and highlights. Making life-long friends, living with people I absolutely adore and discovering what I love and what I want to do in the future are just a few. I was able to hike the Salkantay Trek in Peru with RAG, hitchhike to Gran Canaria and go on over 15 trips around the country with ExSoc. The best things I will take away from my four years in Exeter are my friends, who I couldn’t have done it without.
What will you miss the most about University?
I can’t quite give up Exeter just yet as I will be returning to start my PhD here in November. However, I will definitely miss seeing the people I have studied with for the past 4 years, it won’t quite be the same.
What advice would you give to current and future students? (If you are an international student what would you like to tell future students from back home who might be thinking about applying to study in Exeter?)
Just enjoy being here. I worked so hard in my first year that I didn’t feel I enjoyed myself as much as I should. So in my second year, I met more people, threw myself in societies and had far more fun! Enjoying yourself whilst at university is just as important as studying, just make sure you have that balance!
What are your plans now that you have graduated?
In September a friend and I are renting a campervan and driving around the west coast of America for two months (if only it were longer!). When we get back I will be coming back to Exeter to start a CDT in Environmental Intelligence: Data Science and AI.
